KYC & AML Summit EU

Speaker interview: Paul Simmonds

Paul Simmonds, Global Identity Foundation, CEO.

How close is the financial services industry to achieving standardisation in KYC and identity authentication processes?

Not even close. There are too many interests who want to be the locus-of-control for any payment or identity system, and that’s only the UK. This problem gets much worse when looking across Europe, or globally.

How can firms continue to deliver on their KYC and AML obligations within an increasingly demanding regulatory framework?

There are country level initiates to try and improve this, but with so much crime and money laundering happening on a cross-border level, law-abiding citizens are adversely affected.

What are the best ways firms can implement new technology to reduce KYC compliance costs while retaining customer loyalty?

They need to understand the three fundamentals of identity from a customer’s point-of-view:
1.Privacy: Am I able to keep my personal information private?
2.Primacy: Can I control who I share my personal information with?
3.Agency: Can I control what you do with my personal information?

How are firms decentralising client data and securing information in the wake of recent high profile hacks?

I see no evidence that they are!

How can firms most effectively limit client impact when complying with the KYC refresh process?

There is currently no easy way.

Why will you be speaking at Finance Edge’s KYC & AML Summit Europe, and what do you hope to get out of the event?

To raise the awareness that we need to think about digital identity differently from a people-centric perspective with global solutions.